Gas turbine engines, such as those utilized in commercial and military aircraft, include a compressor that compresses air, a combustor that mixes the compressed air with a fuel and ignites the mixture, and a turbine that expands the resultant gases from the combustion. The expansion of the gases through the turbine drives rotors within the turbine (referred to as turbine rotors) to rotate. The turbine rotors are connected to a shaft that is connected to rotors within the compressor (referred to as compressor rotors), thereby driving the compressor rotors to rotate.
In some gas turbine engines, or sections of some gas turbine engines, the rotors are exposed to significant temperatures, and require active cooling. The active cooling is typically provided by passing a coolant, such as engine air, through internal passages in the rotor. Coolant is provided to the rotor blades through a radially inward facing opening in the root of each rotor blade. As the coolant is delivered to the rotor blade, the coolant comes in contact with the rotor disk supporting the rotor blades and causes a cooling effect on the outer periphery of the rotor disk. The cooling effect on the rotor disk is only present on the outer periphery of the rotor disk, and can cause or exacerbate thermal gradients present in the rotor disk.